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From His Heart - Week of Apr. 6

But God demonstrates His love towards us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.Romans 5:8

Christians all over the world will be gathering this Friday for services. Friday was the day that Jesus died upon the cross.

It was the day that His disciples saw their Lord and Messiah whipped, beaten and nailed to a tree.

It was the day Mary saw her “little boy” brutalized and killed.

It was the day God the Father saw His own dear Son tortured, mocked, spit upon, and crucified.

It was the day that sinful, darkened man extinguished the sinless light of the world.

We call that day… GOOD FRIDAY.

WHERE IS THE GOOD?

How could what happened that Friday possibly be called good? Should we not rename it Bad Friday… or Sad Friday? NO!!! It was good, very good for many reasons. Let me mention three:

1. Good Friday demonstrates the great love of God. Often times we allow circumstances to influence our understanding of God’s love. We wrongly develop “Daisy Theology” – He loves me, He loves me not. If things are going well for us, He must love me; if they are going poorly, He must love me not. Listen, the cross is outside of your particular circumstances. It stands as a PERMANENT REMINDER to you and me that, regardless of our circumstances, God truly does love us… so much so that He would even allow His Son to die a brutal, excruciating, humiliating death for us. Wow!

2. Good Friday opens the door to the great throne of God. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The thick veil that separated God from the people was ripped apart. No longer is there separation. No longer is there any need for further sacrifices upon the mercy seat. You and I can come boldly into the very presence and throne room of the King of Glory and sit in His lap!! We have full and open access to the Father because of what the Son did that Friday.

3. Good Friday paves the way for Easter Sunday. There could be no Easter glory without Good Friday. Jesus said, “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory” (Luke 24:26). What glory, what power, what joy and hope we all have because of the cross and the resurrection. No matter what you and I may be facing today, the resurrection proves to us that God is able!! He can take the worst life can bring and turn it around to be the greatest blessing on earth.

2000 years ago, that Friday was painful beyond words. Yet, it ended up being the most significant single day in history. Without that Friday, you and I are irretrievably destined for hell. But with it (and with the resurrection), we can be blessed and booked and bound for glory to live forever with the One who willingly died for us.

No wonder they call it GOOD FRIDAY!

ONE FINAL NOTE

My friend, if you have not yet received Christ into your heart and been born again, I urge you to do it today. As I told a friend just this week, the way you enter into a personal relationship with Jesus is not easy, yet it is simple: you give all you know of you to all you know of Jesus. You sell out to Him, the God who loves you and died for you.

Make the greatest transaction in the world… trade your sinful life for His sinless, abundant, eternal life. You will be so glad you did!

From His Heart Ministries can now been seen on LightSource.com. This is another opportunity to reach people throughout the world with the love of Christ. Tell your friends and check us out at http://www.lightsource.com/ministries/.

Jeff Schreve is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church in Texarkana, Texas. He and his wife Debbie have been married for almost 20 years and are blessed with three wonderful girls.

Jeff began From His Heart Ministries, a radio and television ministry, in January of 2005. This ministry is completely listener/viewer supported. It continues only through the faithful and generous gifts of people like you. Pastor Jeff takes no salary from this ministry.
All gifts go to further the broadcast. Click here to become a ministry partner.